What is the worst-case time complexity of quicksort?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the worst-case time complexity of quicksort?
O(n log n)
O(n^2)
O(n)
O(log n)
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the worst-case time complexity of quicksort?
Step 1: Understand what quicksort is. Quicksort is a sorting algorithm that works by selecting a 'pivot' element from an array and partitioning the other elements into two sub-arrays according to whether they are less than or greater than the pivot.
Step 2: Know what 'worst-case' means. The worst-case scenario is when the algorithm takes the longest time to complete, which is not ideal.
Step 3: Identify how pivot selection affects performance. If the pivot is always the smallest or largest element, the array is not divided well, leading to inefficient sorting.
Step 4: Recognize the time complexity notation. Time complexity is often expressed using Big O notation, which describes the upper limit of the time an algorithm can take.
Step 5: Conclude the worst-case time complexity. In the worst-case scenario, quicksort can take O(n^2) time, meaning the time taken grows quadratically with the number of elements in the array.
